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Marlin 44 MAg

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#21 ·
Lever rifles can be fussy about what they will feed. You will have to try the ammo in it.

I have owned a number of Marlin 44 Magnums and all fed that ammo just fine.

The 24" Cowboy 44 I now have will feed any bullet type in 44 Special cases. But it wont feed WFN bullets at 44 Magnum factory length. The LWFN work fine as does the original Keith bullet in Magnum cases. It will not feed any SWC at factory length, which is 1.610". My rifle is set up for 1.710 COL.

I have a 5.5" Super Blackhawk for a backup.

Feeding problems can be fixed, if you have any.
 
#22 ·
Turn your 1894 over and look closely at the underside of the receiver where the barrel screws in. At one time, I had both a .44 mag and a .45 Colt.

The .44 mag barrel just abruptly ended and there was a gap at the top of the barrel, on the underside of the receiver. You better believe it was picky about what you could feed it. A friend had one too and there was no way to make a SWC bullet feed.

The .45 Colt had a bit of an extension on the top of the barrel that filled the gap and made a bit of a feed ramp. It would feed anything, including bullets that were close to being a full wadcutter.

I no longer have either gun so can't post pictures. Am wondering why Marlin left that shoulder to hang up bullets in the .44 mag guns, or if they ever changed the design. Also curious about the .41 mag and .357 Marlins.
 
#23 ·
Mike I was going to ask you about lever rifle velocites: 200 gr for a .357 RM, .45 Colt / .44 Mag RM and .35 Remington and now saw your reference to the .44 .45 and .357.

A friend of mine hunts impala and springbok with his Rossi using 158gr .357RM factory semi-jacketed ammunition with perfect heart shots and zero meat damage.
 
#24 ·
My .45 Colt would gain nearly 500 feet per second over handgun loads. But that gun had a 24" barrel. Anyway, for sure gain 300fps with full power loads; probably 400 fps average most of the time.
 
#26 · (Edited)
The Chiappa arrived yesterday (pic attached). I love Marlins, but I chose the Chiappa over the 1894 for two reasons: The short barrel, and its 1:20 twist (vs. 1:38 for the Marlin).

The good: Well finished, smooth action, nice wood and sights are better than I expected, magazine holds six (not five as spec'd), and it fed and ejected the 200 gr. JHP handloads I use in my Smith M29 perfectly. With a tube full of cartridges, this carbine weighs in at 5.4 lbs, and measures a tick over 30" overall. :)

The bad: The muzzle crown looks like it was done by a chimp with a dull drill bit; tool chatter marks the entire circumference. Unacceptable for a gun costing this much, and it's completely out of character in light of the machining on the rest of the rifle. I've got a couple hours work lapping it smooth before shooting it. :mad:

I'm not a huge fan of oversized lever loops, but I have a Henry 22 carbine with a similar loop that I've grown used to.

I've got some Blue Dot that needs using up - I'll load it behind some 240 gr. TC & JHP bullets and see how this little rifle performs.
 

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#31 · (Edited)
ironhead7544 said:
Any updates?
Click to expand...
If you're asking me, yes I do. I loaded up fifty rounds each with the following bullets (Remington brass, CCI large pistol primer, 15.0 grs. Blue Dot) and shot them @ 25m:

1) Remington 240 gr. SJHP
2) Campro 240 gr. TC (Campro is a Canadian bullet maker)

It hated load 1) - groups were 4" plus (six shots). It loved load 2), grouping around 1", which is about my precision limit with the leaf rear sight. I didn't chronograph it, but TC Contender data (10 - 14 inch barrels) shows this load should be clocking between 1400 -1500 fps out of my 12 incher. Recoil was mild, much less than I expected. For that reason, I've got some Winchester 296 ordered, with the intention of getting velocity up in the 1650 - 1700 fps range with the Campro bullet and about 24 grs. of 296. These copper plated lead truncated cone slugs are high quality, effective and cheap, so I was very happy the Chappy liked them so much. All the ammo I've tried has fed perfectly in this rifle.

I was originally considering a 16" barrelled carbine, but I'm grateful I decided on the 12 incher. It gives up very little in ballistics for a huge advantage in portability and quick handling. This is a very effective defense rifle. My 12 gauge buckshot guns, which I shot on the same day, feel like boat anchors in comparison, and are all done past 30 - 35 yards due to pattern spread. The lever gun is good to at least three times that distance, if needed. My Smith M29 will just about match it in accuracy at 25m, but with a 40% velocity disadvantage with the same load.
 
#32 ·
444HAL said:
I'm thinking a short barrel 94 with 44specials for next summer's project. It'll be like a lever version of those 9mil AR's carbines. Maybe I'll match it up with a 44spcl double action revolver.
Click to expand...
A 9mm carbine can't even equal a 44 Mag revolver in terminal ballistics. I'd be more confident with my 6" S&W 29, and the 200 gr. JHP loads I use in it, than any 9mm rifle.

Even with 44 Special loads, a 94 is going to seriously outperform a 9. ;)
 
#33 ·
I have a Winchester 1894-1994 44 magnum trapper, I just love the thing, it's my favorite firearm and I have a few nice firearms costing much more as well. I know we are talking Marlin but I love any discussion involving any lever action especially 44 magnum. I do not much care for the 1894 action but it seems that the looseness of the action keeps it from jamming beings I never had a problem racking it fast or slow. I like the smoothness of the '92s action, it's kind of like my Henry's lever action. BTW Nice rifles guys, I have at times wanted to buy a Marlin but never went through with it. I can't fit anymore firearms in my safe.
 
#34 · (Edited)
The way I hear it is that the Winchester action is loose so that it'll take dirt, grime & ice and still function. Great for a gun that's riding around in a scabbard or back of a Jeep for years. I just don't like the "tin" feeling of the newer standard 94's. I do have a case colored 94 "Trails End" that feels like the pre 64's.

And my thought for the 44spcl is that although the recoil of a 9mil in an AR would be light. The weight of an 18" 1894 would compensate for the stronger 44spcl so you'd have about the same recovery for the next shot. I'd like to have it chambered specifically for the spcl, because I hear the they can grime up the mag chamber.
Also I'm talking a revolver designed specifically for the 44spcl. Why have the extra weight of a heavy 44mag frame to carry around and it might even shoot'em better than out of a 44mag chambered gun.

Update...
Ruger must be following this forum....
http://www.ruger.com/products/gp100/overview.html

Love those guys!
 
#35 ·
Uncle_Lawrence said:
I have a Winchester 1894-1994 44 magnum trapper, I just love the thing, it's my favorite firearm and I have a few nice firearms costing much more as well. I know we are talking Marlin but I love any discussion involving any lever action especially 44 magnum. I do not much care for the 1894 action but it seems that the looseness of the action keeps it from jamming beings I never had a problem racking it fast or slow. I like the smoothness of the '92s action, it's kind of like my Henry's lever action. BTW Nice rifles guys, I have at times wanted to buy a Marlin but never went through with it. I can't fit anymore firearms in my safe.
Click to expand...
I never cared for the Winchester 1894, either, but I like the 1892 copies very much. Much prefer side eject Marlins for rifle size cartridges - much less rattly than the Winchester.

I ran out of safe room, too, last month. Easily solved - bought another safe. :D
 
#38 ·
Yes it is the Marlin twist of 1 in 38" that is the problem. I call it a RB gun. I shot some great groups at 50 but 100 was cannon shot.
My friend has the old Marlin .444 and even it is driving us nuts.
Now I don't know the W94 twist. But the rifles still need a 1 in 20". Seems Marlin only screwed up anything starting with .44. It was a pencil pusher that used the Greenhill formula. I sold mine.
 
#39 ·
Well, roundball does its best at 1-60" to 1-70". The 1-38" is faster than most muzzleloaders setup for conicals.

The 1-38" twist is way too slow, few will argue that. It was intended for 240's in the .44 and 265's in the .444 but it works fine up to and including 300gr in the .44. Slightly heavier in the .444. I've shot some unbelievably tiny groups at 100yds with a standard Marlin 1894 using the 270gr Gold Dot. It would benefit from a quicker twist, which would allow for bullets up to 355gr in the .44 and 405gr in the .444. The newer Marlin .444's have the faster twist and the new Chiappa 92 .44's do as well. Been wanting to play with both.

The biggest issue with the Marlin seems to be that some guns have an oversized bore and don't play well with .430" bullets.
 
#40 ·
I picked up my 1894 Marlin .44mag in the late 1970s. Very plain, no checkering and nothing fancy. I've used it on deer and really like the rifle. I mounted a 3X (old) steel tube Weaver scope that I had lying around on it and like the combo. The load I use is a 240 grain Speer JHP over 24 grains of H110 for 1750 fps. It is powerful and accurate and handy to tote around. Never had any cycling problems with this load or even lead bullet swc loads.
 
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